Reasons Why an iMessage Could Send as a Text Message
Smartphone users send billions of text messages every day, many of which are sent using the iMessage service.
In fact, with over a billion active iMessage users around the world, more than fifteen percent of all mobile messages are iMessage.
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But that means that over eighty percent of the other messages are SMS messages, including some that were initially intended to be iMessages.
There are a handful of reasons why this might happen. The most common reasons are listed below:
You or the Recipient Have iMessage Disabled
The iMessage option on an iPhone is simply a setting, like a ringtone or a preferred search engine.
It’s possible that this setting could get turned off, either by accident, as part of a troubleshooting process, or if you switch phones or Apple IDs.
You and your recipient can go to Settings > Messages > and ensure that the iMessage option is turned on.
Note that if the iMessage setting is turned off, then you won’t be able to send iMessage to anyone.
iMessage is Down for Everyone
While this is pretty uncommon, it can happen. The iMessage service is one that is supported by Apple.
Like many other Internet-based features, this can sometimes stop working properly.
In situations like that, a message that would have previously been sent as an iMessage will be sent as a regular SMS text message instead.
You can check Apple’s System Status page to confirm that the iMessage service is working properly.
The Recipient is Not Using an iPhone or Other Apple Device
The iMessage feature is currently only available on Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Mac computers.
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If the person you are conversing with is not using one of those devices, such as if they have an Android phone, then you will not be able to use iMessage for that conversation.
This can create some confusing situations if the recipient previously had an iPhone but switched to a non-Apple device, as the older messages would be blue, but the newer ones would be green.
You or the Recipient Got a New Phone
Sometimes when you switch phones, even when upgrading to another iPhone, it can take some time for everything to update.
It’s also possible that a setting needs to be adjusted. Some settings to look out for include:
- Ensure that iMessage is enabled by going to Settings > Messages > and finding the iMessage option. If it is turned on, you might want to turn it off and on again.
- Confirm that you have Cellular Data or Mobile Data enabled. You can find this at Settings > Cellular > and confirm that Cellular Data is turned on.
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update and confirm that there are not any updates available. If there are, then download and install them.
- Make sure that you are using automatic time. You can find this at Settings > General > Date & Time > and confirm that Set Automatically is enabled.
The Recipient’s Phone Might Be Turned Off or Low on Battery
If the iMessage service isn’t able to reach the recipient’s phone because it is turned off, then it can’t complete the sending of the message. This can cause the iMessage service to assume that something is wrong and default to sending the message as an SMS.
While this situation is more common when a phone is turned off, it is possible for it to happen if the phone is also very low on battery. This can cause actions to occur unexpectedly, including iMessage failure.
You or the Recipient Have a Bad Internet Connection
The iMessage service relies on the Internet to deliver its messages.
If you don’t have a good Internet connection (or a connection at all) or if your recipient doesn’t have an Internet connection, then the iMessage service won’t be able to send the message.
If you think that it could be you, then you can try toggling airplane mode on or off to reconnect to your cellular or Wi-Fi network.
You can also try going to a site like fast.com and seeing what your Internet connection speed is.
You Could Be Blocked
Many people who see a green message instead of a blue one will think that they have been blocked.
In all likelihood, this isn’t the case. While it’s common for people to block spammers or telemarketers, or other strangers that they have no interest in communicating with, it’s far less common for people to block individuals that they know in real life and have an existing relationship with.
Most people won’t randomly block someone, so you might have to consider if something happened that could have caused that person to block you.
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You could also try calling the recipient and seeing what happens. If you are blocked, then the call will go directly to voicemail.
Comparison of iMessage and Text Messages
While the most obvious difference between iMessages and standard SMS text messages is the color of the bubble in the Messages app (blue for iMessage and green for standard SMS messages), there are several other differences as well.
As you can see from the table above, the iMessage service has a lot of features that it offers to Apple users, and many of those users prefer to use iMessage whenever possible.
In the next section, we discuss changing a setting on your iPhone so that the iPhone won’t fall back to sending an iMessage as an SMS if the iMessage service isn’t available. So if you’re curious about how to stop sending as text message on iPhone when the iMessage fails, then this is the setting you want to change.
How to Disable the Sent as SMS iPhone Setting
In the next section we talk about how you can manually send a failed iMessage as a text message if it’s not able to complete as an iMessage.
How to Change Your iPhone Messages from iMessages to Text Messages Manually
If you would like to prevent your iPhone from sending iMessages as text messages when the iMessage service is unavailable, then you will need to go to Settings > Messages > and disable the Send as SMS option. This will prevent the confusing iMessage turned to text message situations that can occur when iMessage problems arise.
Then when you have an iMessage that can’t send because the iMessage service is either down or unavailable, then you can tap and hold on to the message and select the Send as Text message option.
To summarize, you can manually send an iMessage as a text message with these steps:
- Tap Settings.
- Select Messages.
- Disable Send as SMS.
- Tap and hold on an iMessage that wouldn’t send.
- Choose the Send as Text Message option.
In the next section, we answer questions like what does sent as text message mean on iPhone and why does it say text message instead of iMessage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
The iPhone can send two different kinds of text messages.
Messages with a green bubble are regular text messages, while messages with a blue bubble are iMessages.
Typically an iMessage is sent to someone using an Apple device, and text messages (or SMS messages) are sent to someone using a different kind of device.
If you intended to send a blue message, but the iMessage is green and says sent as text message, then it likely occurred because of one of the reasons we mentioned above.
Hopefully, our guide above has provided you with more information about why an iMessage turns to text message, as well as some of the reasons this might occur and some actions you can take to resolve it.
Continue Reading
- How to Enable iMessage on iPhone 13
- How to Send Confetti on iPhone 13
- How to Find Old Messages on iPhone Without Scrolling
- Why Is There a Bell Next to My Text Message on an iPhone?
- What Is the Difference Between Green and Blue Texts on an iPhone?
- How to Turn On Text Message Forwarding on an iPhone
- How to Find Old Messages on iPhone Without Scrolling
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Category: WHY
